


Ashes! Ashes!

by xahra99



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Gen, Melancholy, Plague, Platonic Romance, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 15:14:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4353893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xahra99/pseuds/xahra99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I thought you hated roses."<br/>"And I thought you were dead."<br/>Sadness and snark. Olenna Tyrell & Tywin Lannister, written for Siri for the apocalyptothon</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ashes! Ashes!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/gifts).



Ring around the roses

A pocket full of posies

Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down.

(Traditional)

 

 

It was said the sickness came from Dorne, though the Dornish blamed Braavos, and the Braavosi accused Sothoryos, and Sothoryos was sufficiently distant that no Sothoryosi could be found to defend their homeland.

When the plague came to Westeros, it smashed the game of thrones and scattered all the pieces.

The land descended into chaos. Beset by sorrow on all sides, some folk joined religious cults and prayed ceaselessly. for deliverance. Others turned to dancing and to drink, spending their days in thoughtless extravagance. People fled into the countryside, carrying the pestilence with them as they went, and died in the Vale or the Eyrie, far from their homes.

Lady Olenna Tyrell took her wine on the roof of the Red Keep because the spire was one of the few places in King's Landing that didn't smell of burning corpses. The climb made her knees tremble and brought a thin sheen of sweat to her brow, but respite from the stink was worth the cost.

The tower had been a pleasant place before the plague, with a bower and a few pots of flowers. Now the garden had been forced into neglect. The paint on the trellises had faded and the rooftop was a riot of unpruned damask roses.

The Queen of Thorns picked a few blossoms to add to her pomander. “The roses still grow,” she said to herself.

“I thought you hated roses.”

She turned. “And I thought you were dead.”

Tywin Lannister raised one eyebrow. Dust grimed his velvet doublet and tarnish marred his gold Hand's pin.He looked ten years older. “It will take more than that.”

Olenna snorted. “Oh come. Lions die, and roses fade.”

“We remain,” he said.

“We do,” she agreed. “Though my family tree has been most severely pruned.”

“You have my condolences,” he said.

“And you have mine.”

He turned away to stare across the city. The streets spread out below them like a cloak. From their lofty vantage Olenna could not see the curfews and caskets, the gatekeepers and laws, the bonepits strewn with quicklime and the doors nailed closed. One could have pretended that nothing was awry, but that had never been Olenna's way.

“At least the war has ended,” she said, gazing down at the green fire that rippled from the water where the septons burned corpses in the remains of the Targaryens' dragonpit. “There's nothing but death. I suppose that you could call that peace.”

Tywin Lannister turned to stare at her. His face was gaunt, and with his pale eyes and pale hair, he looked like Death himself. She saw his hand tremble before he controlled himself. He'd done what he had to, and been reviled for it. It hadn't been enough.

She lifted cup and jug. “A drink?” she suggested. “We have wine to spare.”

Tywin did not protest as she poured a glass of rich Arbor red. There was less wine than there had been before the plague, but far fewer drinkers meant there was more wine to go around. She'd brought lemon cakes to go with the wine, and cool spring water to wash them down. They ate and drank in silence.

“What did we do to deserve this?” Olenna said, brushing.

“We failed to see it coming.”

She nodded. “Agreed.” Once the plague had entered King's Landing neither her money or his power had been enough to beat it back.

“We might have prevailed, if only people would stay where they were put.” Tywin toyed with his goblet, an old lion goaded to fury by the stings of unfathomed fortune.

“Did you really expect they would?”

“No,” he admitted, turning to watch the black smoke rise into the sky. “I should have killed the sick.”

She knew the Lannisters had earned their reputation for ruthlessness, but he still surprised her. “Do you believe people would have permitted it?”

“Do you believe they'd have any choice?” he countered.

“I doubt it.”

“You disapprove.”

Olenna shook her head. “A good gardener knows how to prune her roses. But it wouldn't have worked.”

“It would have been better than this.” His voice held an edge like Valyrian steel.

Olenna shrugged. “You can lie to yourself if you like, but don't lie to me. You could put the whole of King's Landing to the sword and the sickness would still spread. That's human nature.”

”No,” he said crisply. “That's stupidity.”

“As I said.”

The shadow of a smile lingered at the corner of his mouth."Indeed,"

Olenna took a breath of clean air, nearly choking on the suffocating floral fragrance. “I'm sorry for your sons,” she said, pouring another glass of wine. She did not mention Cersei.

“I can make more sons.”

“You old fool.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Our days have passed.”

“Our families will live on.”

“Perhaps.” The Queen of Thorns set down the ewer. Her sleeve rolled back for a moment, displaying the ring of red sores on her wrist. “But sooner or later, we all fall.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there sumi. You listed your requests as canon timelines (uh, sort of), smut (oh god no), snark (plenty) fluff (roses?), random situations (well I guess), angst, (yes) first date (no chance), playful banter (well, it's banter), happy endings (this is Game of Thrones and there are no happy endings), domesticity (she pours wine at some point), characters who wear glasses,(no, sorry) AU (yes!), first times, humor fic (sorry, basically everyone dies but it happens offscreen). I guess some of them got in?? Anyway, I hope you like it even though it uh, isn't exactly what you asked for.


End file.
